11 April 2010

Altadena Crest

Angeles National Forest

This afternoon I stopped by Jo-ann to find that if I ever want sock yarn
in a solid color, I need to order it online or get some good stuff from
Skein. But that was on my way to go hiking: there is a trail
that heads up into the foothills from about halfway down to the bridge
along Mt. Wilson Toll Rd. I had seen a bit of it down below me when I
was hiking much higher up from Rubio Canyon some weeks back. It calls
itself Altadena Crest trail and I decided to see what it's like.

The
trail climbed steeply out of the canyon and then kept going steeply to
get above the house level as it goes along the little canyons above
Altadena. A few of the canyons seemed like death traps should there be a
flash flood. A little way past a canyon I recognized as the
one I'd been in, but far above on the trail from Rubio which ended in a rock slide here,
the trail suddenly took a twisting and turning path downward with no
apparent trail on the other side. I decided not to take it further.
There wouldn't be much left anyway.

I turned back and climbed up
the ladder set into the flood control dams to see up that canyon, the
biggest along the way. Not many people went that way. There was an
overgrown path up there. I decided not to bother with the next, taller
ladder up the next dam and instead turned and headed back.

A little past the
highest point along the route there was this cross along the trail and
two shorter, stout crosses below it on the steep hillside. I don't know the history that has inspired these reminders, but the top one was draped in an
American flag and a few firefighter caps that may hint at their reason
for being. I sketched them from the edge of the trail on the other side
of the canyon. I could only see the top one from by the top one.